Which Michigan RB had the better performance against OSU?
Your contenders (and you must choose one):
Tshimanga Biakabutuka (1995) vs. #2 OSU
- 313 yards on 37 carries, 1 TD
- Michigan wins 31-23
or
Hassan Haskins (2021) vs. #2 OSU
- 169 yards on 28 carries, 5 TDs
- Michigan wins 42-27
We're all going to have to overcome generational bias and recency bias here.
Aaaaaaaaand . . . go.
Timmy B
Both were great but my memory of Tim B was of him carrying several tacklers 10+ yards multiple times. While Hassan had a GREAT game it was also a lot of O-Line dominance and some broader scheme benefits. Again, both were very memorable but the individual effort and contribution tips the scales for me.
I think Timmy B’s performance is a skosh better too but the OLine was dominant in 95 as well. Gotta give the big boys a lot of credit in both.
Yes, and this isn't even close. Nearly 10 ypc on 37 (!!!) carries and 65% of the teams total offense for Timmy B and much of that was him making things happen.
Haskins got more TDs but most were walk-ins given how badly M's O-line was whipping OSU. And by the last one, they intentionally let him score to get the ball back.
Haskins performance was absolutely great, no question, but Blake Corum had 87 yards on just 6 carries as an example of just how badly Michigan as a team was dominating.
Haskins should get no credit at all. It was snowing and cold that day. And ohio had a cold and sniffles. And a tummy ache. All of them. How could they be expected to play?
/s just in case
Griese threw three picks that day. I'm not really sure whether that means OSU was geared to stop the pass, or they should've known that Biakabutuka was going to be run down their throats. But I think it should be mentioned anyway to understand the context.
Griese was really bad that season. He started only because Driesbach had broken his thumb. OSU would not have gone into that game focusing on stopping the pass, not when Biakabutuka was having an elite season.
Correct. And it's not really all that close.
As much as many of you were enamored by Haskins' performance, and even comparing it to Biakabatuka last fall, it's not in the same category. I didn't say this at the time because...you know...I probably wouldn't be allowed to say anything at that time without getting blasted.
But trust me...what happened in 1995 was so much more gut-punching, heart-breaking and entirely demoralizing; I melted into my couch as a depressed blob having suffered an emotional beatdown. In 2021 I always thought that a comeback was just a possession or two away, if the defense could just get a stop. (SPOILER: it didn't.)
Think of it this way, as much as Haskins was a workhorse, he would have had to nearly DOUBLE his yardage to be in Biakabatuka territory. Besides, it was supposed to be Eddie George who would have the big day, and of all the Michigan losses I suffered back in the day the '95 game made me more sullen than any of them.
It's not close. Haskins might be this generation's version, but it's not close.
And what made that game even worse for OSU is that they needed to win it to go to the Rose Bowl... if the lost Northwestern went...
The OSU fans that were sitting behind my dad and I at that game had already bought and paid for their trip to Pasadena and Rose Bowl tickets figuring OSU was going to... lol
Great post, Chuck. I'm curious why you rank '95 as worse than '96. You already describe '95 well. The following year was a revenge game. It was at The Shoe. Orlando Pace was probably best player in the nation. You guys were undefeated. You already clinched the Big 10 Rose Bowl berth. If you beat us, the Rose Bowl would have likely been for a National Championship, especially after FSU lost the Sugar Bowl. And you led at halftime 9-0.
The '96 loss sucked big time, don't get me wrong. But at least I can say that OSU was theoretically one Shawn Springs slip on the turf away from winning the game.
'95 was demoralizing and humiliating throughout. I stated that I was most sullen after that loss than any other. I wasn't despondent throughout the '96 game; it was a one-score game!
you're a good egg chuck. consider showing up at the 2023 game to tailgate.
Hey Mr. Chuck,
Thanks for your heartfelt post. This is a good one. I empathize wholeheartedly. How can I not after the few games that we coulda shoulda won - but didn't quite (due to Evil having to win a bunch so that Good can really appreciate building character) - in the past 15 years.
I see your response as acknowledgement of the pain of losing games that matter more, not of the RB's performance. Let's face it..it doesn't matter all that much to finally lose once after so many years and a few games OSU should have lost if not for referees, Michigan's panty-bunching, or a combination thereof.
I don't disagree with you. Tshimanga was a man amongst buckeyes (toxic tree-fruit, FYI). But I think the reason his performance stands out to buckeye fans, was due to the gut punch you all felt based on expectations (which Eddie George didn't meet in The Game because he was always overrated) and the then-recent history of frequently losing The Game.
I totally get it. Losing again and again to the team you hate sucks.
But this opinion about TB as having the more dominant game is not because Haskins didn't plant the field with lost, disheartened buckeyes. Lo, he planted many. No. The very reason Hassan's performance could be considered more impressive is because he was the Eddie George bulldozer the buckeyes never had in The Game, plowing furrows through the feckless OSU defense.
The Wolverine O-line completely owned both games for the rushing attack. The key difference was that although Haskins may have only Eddie George-level talent, he achieved Tshimanga Biakabatuka-level results.
It's ok to once again feel the pain of your solar plexus being core-sampled. But know Haskins performance should be more concerning for OSU than Biakabatuka's was, and for this reason, it was more impressive.
Good post. And fair points.
But 313, man. Freaking 313.
If Haskins had all 169 by halftime, now we're talking similar performances.
Biakabatuka won the game himself. Haskins had a lot of help. I was at both games
I pick C) all of the above.
Ha! I like this answer! I would say Timmy’s was the best performance and Hassan’s was the most satisfying performance to watch.
Tim
Blake Corum + Donovan Edwards 2022.
Revenge for 2016 and 2006 games
BOO!!!
Good Lord, I hope not.
I am sorry, this is akin to asking who do you love more - Mom or Dad. BOTH!!!
My mom left my dad and forced me to live with her and her 2nd husband when I was 5. I have a marginally better relationship with my dad, but he would rather spend time with his new family.
So you didn't provide the easiest example. For me, anyway.
Tim by far. Love both though, obviously.
I’m of the Timmy era but I’m going with Haskins for these reasons. Give Haskins 9 more carries and he’s well over 200 yards and probably adds another td in there. His 5 td’s is better than Timmy’s 1. Haskins last td, OSU physically gave in and let him walk in, that’s complete domination.
I mean, look, I choose the Haskins game too and Haskins is probably my favorite Michigan RB since Mike Hart, but that was OSU trying to conserve time to get the ball back when they knew Haskins was likely to score on that down or the next one.
You are correct. The TD before is the one that did the exact same thing just it wasnt their choice on that one. He broke their will on the previous TD and then they just gave up on purpose on the last one.
Hassan Haskins single-handedly beat OSU last year. 35 > 27.
Easy pick.
I wasn't aware that he also kicked the extra points. What can't he do?
I was only a year old during the Timmy game so I have to go with Haskins, only the 2nd OSU game I’ve seen us win since I started watching M football in 2005. Bought his jersey just because of that game. The buckeye killer
i choose the guy who set a rivalry record and ruined ohio state's title hopes. ....wait
I'm going with Biakabutuka. He had almost 65% of our offense in that game (yardage-wise). The team averaged 4.8 ypc aside from him.
Haskins performance was a great performance but without him we still averaged 9.8 YPC and had exactly 0 carries for a loss until the kneel downs at the end. This was a team paving and Haskins was the benefactor.
don't let any of this take away from the fact that Michigan beat Ohio State 42-27. People forget that.
Forget what? That Michigan beat OSU 42-27?
That's a shame. We should probably remind people of 42-27 at least 42 more times over the next 27 days just to educated folks.
... 42-27
We really oughta put 42-27 in the top slogan section. Wouldn't want people to forget that Michigan beat Ohio State 42-27 last year.
Hell, let's update the site banner with that picture of HH skying over the Buckeye defense with 42-27 somewhere on it.
Because Michigan beat Ohio State 42-27
Both were amazing, but I only attended one of the two games...
TIMMY!!!
(the chants of 'Eddie Who?' kind of put that game over the top for me, too...)
To give some reference to the Timmy B performance if we add Corum and Haskins together against OSU, they carried 34 times for 256 and 5 TD, still not coming close to what Timmy B. did on that day.
That's 8.3 yards per carry vs. 7.5 yards per carry (and Haskins was only at 6.1 ypc). The five touchdowns vs. the one touchdown makes it a bit tougher, but I gotta go with Timmy B, but truly both had some of the most dominant performances we'll see in this game
This is not to in any way diminish what Hassan H did, which was an all-timer, but go back and watch that Biakabutuka performance again. Watch how many times he ripped off runs after juking a free hitter either in the backfield or squarely in the hole. This isn't even close-- that '95 performance was one of the most transcendent things I've ever seen on a football field.
^ exactly ^
Yes!
As much as I loved watching Hassan Haskins play, Tshimanga Biakabutuka had the better game. Although Cade did have the one pick in the end zone, the 1995 team was hamstrung by Griese's performance (9 of 18 for 103 yards and three interceptions).
Also, the 1995 Ohio State team came into the Game undefeated and on paper was a better team than Michigan. Lloyd lost three games in the regular season that year and had struggled against inferior competition (including a 5-0 win over Purdue). Ohio State, on the other hand, had crushed a 9-3 Notre Dame team, beaten Penn State (which Michigan had lost to the week before) and handily beat two of the teams Michigan had struggled with (Boston College and Purdue).
At the same time, the 2021 win was more satisfying for reasons we all know all too well.
(Trivia note: I rewatched the Wolverine Historian videos on the 1995 game and freshman Charles Woodson had two interceptions.)
The Purdue 5-0 game was played in absolutely terrible weather conditions. I don't think that game can be used as evidence to speak to anything more broadly other than it is tough to play football in really bad weather.
I admit I'd forgotten about that. I think I watched it on cable.
Having said that, I'd look at the Boston College games these two teams played. Michigan struggled to win 23-13 despite picking off 4 BC passes; Ohio State won 38-6. They also beat Penn State that year, which Michigan could not (and both games were in State College).
Having attended that 5-0 win over Purdue, that was less about Michigan struggling with Purdue and more about both teams struggling with the weather. It was horrendous. Rain and wind followed by a 20 degree drop in temperature that turned the precipitation into ice pellets. So everyone went from cold and wet to frozen. I remember seeing the students jumping up and down, and I think they were just trying to stay warm. Holding the football must have been like holding a watermelon seed.
it was the sort of weather that OSU fans think we had on November 27. You know, when we beat them 42-27?
I didn’t feel my feet until the Wednesday after the game.
Worst weather conditions I have ever watched a game. My dad and his older sister were smart and bailed back to my aunties condo. His younger sister and me — not so much. We stayed for the whole thing. Watching mercury Hayes bodysurf in a small pond just out of bounds near me made me even colder.
One more thing about the Purdue game. Michigan stadium was grass at that time and it wasn’t any good — note the small lakes around the field that day. They never got the grass growing well. A couple of the A&M schools in the league promised that they could grow grass in the stadium AND failed miserably.
yes
Biakabutuka hands down. ...and that takes nothing away from Hassan. Touchdown Tim had one of the best performances ever by a RB in that game further emphasized in that he outperformed the Heisman Trophy winning RB Eddie George in that game.
Timmy i think.
It is Timmy B, it is really not that close. He put up a top 5 all-time game for Michigan.
yes
As one of the few people lucky enough to attend both I must say...I don't know.